ESCONDIDO: Maple Street Plaza construction slated to begin Monday

DAVID GARRICK dgarrick@nctimes.com

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Construction is scheduled to begin Monday on the Maple Street
Pedestrian Plaza, which city officials say they hope will be the
lively central gathering place that Escondido's downtown has always
needed.

During an estimated six months of construction, Maple Street
between Grand Avenue and Valley Parkway will be closed to through
traffic except for the entry to AmericanWest Bank off Maple. The
alley crossing will also be closed, but pedestrian traffic will be
allowed.

The project will include decorative concrete pavers, game
tables, benches, performance spaces, trees with colored lights that
will change with the season, a large central oak tree with a
compass rose, a water feature, several pieces of public art and a
trellis gateway. City officials estimate the plaza will open in
August.

When the project is completed, the block of Maple will be a
one-way street heading north and all of its parking spots will be
gone. There will also be a new stoplight at West Valley Parkway and
Maple.

The City Council
approved
the plaza in December after more than six years ofplanning, which
began
in June 2005 when the city received a $945,000 "smartgrowth" grant for the project from the San Diego Association ofGovernments, the county's regional planning agency.